Project Management Foundations

Fundamental Questions in Project Management

• What problem are you solving?
• How are you going to solve this problem?
  • Requirements
  • Deliverables
  • Scope
• What's your plan?
  • Work
  • Resources
  • Schedule
  • Process
• How will you know when you're done?
  • Succes Criteria - Quantifiable results showing that the project is complete
• How well did the project go?

Initiate

Identify Stakeholders

Customer - person or group with a problem to solve

• Funds the project
• Informs what needs to be done
• Confirms deliverables

Sponsor - wants project to succeed

• Prioritize objectives
• Talk to stakeholders
• Suggest improvements

Functional Manager

• Achieve department goals
• Manage team members

Team Members

Departments - Invested and affected by project outcomes

Analyze Stakeholders

Stakeholder Analysis Document

• Name/Position
• Department
• Managers/Advisors
• Objectives/Interests
• Influence
• Project Contribution
• Resistance

Identify the Project Goal

Create a Problem Statement - What are we trying to solve? Be careful, people often jump straight to solutions. Don't be afraid to ask "why" more than once.

Once you have a Problem Statement, you can tackle the Project Goal. It should be simple and easy to understand.

Define Project Objectives

Use SMART criteria to flesh out what objectives fall into the Project Goal

• Financial objectives
• Quality objectives
• Technical objectives
• Performance objectives

Choose a Strategy

Brainstorming

Get a small group together. Read problem statement, goal, and objectives
Identify possible strategies

Create a decision matrix to compare options

• Check whether a strategy satisfies all must-have objectives
• Rate the preformance for each objective. If needed, more important objectives can be weighted higher

For the best strategy, ask:

1. Is this feasible?
   • If unsure, perform a feasability study
2. Are the risks acceptable?
   • If unsure, perform a risk analysis
3. Does the strategy fit the culture?

Gather Requirements

Case Study
Document requirements that are both necessary and specific

Challenges

• Incorrect requirements - may not be communicated in the right way by the stakeholder
• Inconsistent requirements - contradictory
• Missing requirements
• Unnecessary requirements - watch out for these coming from people who aren't really stakeholders
• Customers don't commit time - often stakeholders balk at the time commitment it takes to define requirements

Approaches

Interviews - interview the right people and come with a list of questions
Focus Groups - brainstorming sessions. representatives from multiple groups
Observation - watch how people work to validate the requirements
Surveys - word these carefully
Analyze existing documentation

Analyze Requirements

Make sure the requirements you've gethered all make sense

• Are there missing requirements?
• Are there inconsistent or duplicated requirements
• Clarify unclear requirements with stakeholders

Don't be discouraged, it can take several rounds to get to a product's true requirements

Documenting Requirements

Write them in clear and concise language
Organize similar requirements into categories

Deliverable and Success Criteria

Deliverables are measured by success criteria.

Deliverables

• Define scope
• Measure progress

To document deliverables, start by recording end deliverables. Then document intermediate deliverables on the way.

Success Criteria
Examples

• Signed contracts
• Certificate of occupancy

Write success criteria that are clear and quantifiable

Identify Project Assumptions and Risks

Make sure everyone is on the same page
Ask about expectations
Don't be shy about asking more than once

Indentify risks that could affect the project

Document assumptions and risks